SAMSUNG ELECT LTD mobile business declined 74 percent in the third quarter, highlighting the company's ongoing struggle at retail. Is this a sign of things to come?
"In their current shape and form, every indication is that Samsung is going to be the next BlackBerry Ltd BBRY 2.01% and Nokia," Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry told Benzinga.

IHS Technology IHS 1.56% Senior Analyst Daniel Gleeson said that this is a "danger" that Samsung and other manufacturers need to recognize.

"It's something that's not just affecting Samsung," said Gleeson. "If you look at Sony, HTC, LG -- they're all under fierce, incredible pressure just simply to generate profits and to break even. Samsung has a bit more of a cushion than the others, but it's something that affects all of them because they're being pressured at the top-end from Apple, who has now come out with those larger phones."
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Specs Are A 'Recipe For Disaster'
Chowdhry warned that Samsung needs more than upgraded specs if it wants to survive.
"Specs, by itself, is a recipe for a disaster," said Chowdhry. "That is the fundamental problem of Samsung. I don't think you can take specs in isolation."
Instead, Chowdhry thinks that Samsung should focus on software -- but not necessarily the OS.
"Everybody is doing Lollipop, so what is unique?" Chowdhry questioned. "What is Samsung's differentiation? Can you remember the last time you went to the store to buy a phone and asked for technical specifications?"

I'm glad BlackBerry has more than just specs to differentiate (BB10 / keyboard).

BlackBerry to Announce Third Quarter Fiscal 2015 Results on Friday, December 19th, 2014

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, Dec 05, 2014 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- BlackBerry(R) BBRY, +2.01% (BB) will be reporting results for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 on December 19th, 2014. A conference call and live webcast will be held beginning at 8 am ET, which can be accessed by dialing 1-888-503-8168 or by logging on at Investor Events - Canada.

A replay of the conference call will also be available at approximately 10 am ET by dialing 1-647-436-0148 and entering pass code 8015758# or by clicking the link above. This replay will be available until midnight ET January 2nd, 2015.

I'm glad BlackBerry has more than just specs to differentiate (BB10 / keyboard).

Thanks for this.

"Specs Are A 'Recipe For Disaster'

Chowdhry warned that Samsung needs more than upgraded specs if it wants to survive.

"Specs, by itself, is a recipe for a disaster," said Chowdhry. "That is the fundamental problem of Samsung. I don't think you can take specs in isolation."

Instead, Chowdhry thinks that Samsung should focus on software -- but not necessarily the OS.

"Everybody is doing Lollipop, so what is unique?" Chowdhry questioned. "What is Samsung's differentiation? Can you remember the last time you went to the store to buy a phone and asked for technical specifications?" "

All of these pieces–and dozens more that he’s bought or built–combine into a corporate structure as byzantine as his overarching product. His 800 employees are splintered across offices in 14 cities, and NantWorks, the parent holding company, houses nine separate units, all with different investor groups and each apparently designed to trade independently as a tracking stock. The first IPO, as early as next year, will likely be NantHealth, his health care information technology play, poised to profit from new payment schemes created by ObamaCare. Investors include Verizon, Celgene, BlackBerry and the Kuwait Investment Authority. FORBES values NantHealth alone at $1.6 billion. All told, FORBES values the entirety of Soon-Shiong’s Nant-related holdings at $7.7 billion.

[...]

Soon-Shiong angrily shrugs off the criticisms. “Unfortunately, when you go outside the accepted conventional bounds, some people feel threatened and strike out,” he says. “When you run a public company, short-sellers seize on it and give it even more legs. Fortunately, the strong persevere–and not just me–and we have a better world for it. If they didn’t, a lot of advances in health care, science and technology would never be achieved.”